When I first began volunteering at the Pregnancy Care Center, it was because of a presentation given at my church. I had time on my hands and thought this would be a good place to give a few hours to serve. That was 18 years ago. I could never have imagined how God could use me in this ministry. At the time, I was married and the mother of 4 school-aged children. I felt that was as far as my experience went. Now I serve as the Executive Director.

It wasn't long after beginning to volunteer that the then Executive Director learned about my abortion experience as a High School student. I really didn't talk about it much but it came up one day. She asked me if I had ever gone through any healing groups. I told her I was fine, but she thought otherwise. I went through a healing weekend and it was life-changing. I didn't realize all that I had "stuffed" from my experience. I cried, prayed for forgiveness, and allowed God to heal those broken places. I went to my parents and asked forgiveness from them for putting them through that ordeal. We cried together and more healing took place. I learned that I was 14-weeks pregnant which I didn't even know. It was a 2-day procedure that I forgot about. I was told at the clinic, it was just a blob of tissue. That was not true. They introduced me to abortion but didn't talk about other options.

As a result of my experience, I am passionate about helping women, with unexpected pregnancies, consider all their options. At our medical office, J. Rophe Medical, we talk about abortion procedures and risks, about parenting and what that might look like, and we also look at the different options for making adoption plans. We discuss fetal development and provide ultrasounds so women can make informed decisions. We tell them about the resources available, to help them, should they choose to continue their pregnancies. And, if needed, we are here to cry with them on the other side of abortion.

I honestly don't know if my choice would have been any different, had I been given all this information, but one can wonder... I never want another woman to "wonder" because she wasn't given all the information to make an informed choice.